It's not something she can justify, but she feels rather safe. It could be the ambassador's Galarian accent or the friendly pokemon. And then it occurs to her that she knows who the Galarian ambassador is, and it is none other than a member of the Calcifet family. "Forgive me," she starts, "I could not place you at first, Ms. Calcifet." She wasn't so involved in royal affairs as to know all of the details, but she had taken her visit to Galar not too long ago, and she had heard plenty of public opinion about the Calcifet heirs 'diddling about' in Hoenn. [break][break]

"You must be so busy." She was thankful for no bad blood between Galar and Hoenn, but she knew that her and Remiel being in Hoenn was not necessarily sitting well with the folks back home. Not that Ameena stayed long enough to water her roots, so to speak. "But while you are here, I would love a recommendation for a source on black tea. Even the small shops in Mauville are disappointing."[break][break]

She straightened up a bit as the egg shifted aggressively. "Oi! Do not hatch here," she hissed quietly as she looked back at it.

TAGS – [break]

NOTES – Elise Calcifet [break][break]

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She gets the distinct impression he's no fan of this particular Triad member. [break][break]

But she feels relief that they're not scripted to face excruciating deaths. He flips the coin and says something about an original region, and isn't that a thinker? The rift forms. "Well, at least that was better than being eviscerated by Regirock." Her voice is low, but it comes out more bitter than amused like she intends. [break][break]

"But if I had to choose anyone to be eviscerated with, you are not a bad choice." She offers a genuine grin as she's been a fan of dark humor since the military instilled it in her. More thoughtfully, she adds, "Probably my first choice for interrogating one of them, too. From what I have heard, the DRK have earned their lumps." She had spent too much time committing herself to Megalopolans as far as external support for research went, but her suspicion was growing that the DRK could offer advancements for dream travel, too.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – enter the rift[break][break]

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]FATHER WINTER 1-A

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You call the coin toss. The coin flips in the air, its golden edge glinting by Mauville's troffer lights. When it lands, the dark-haired man slaps the coin onto the back of his hand.[break][break]

"it's your lucky day." He says. "every day is a lucky day for this region. it is a miracle that the original one hasn't seen perceived you yet."[break][break]

Suddenly, you think see a hovering UNOWN in the corner of your vision but before you can confirm its presence, it disappears. Turning back to the man, you notice that he too, has vanished... into a rift.

Interesting. She wonders if they can obtain a high enough quantity of duplicate pokemon of shiny and regular palette to test her theory. She knows the concoction he has is a limited supply, but there are many methods to rebirth a pokemon in shadow, and she's rather curious to see how they all shake out. Not enough to sacrifice her own research for it, but enough to be willing to contribute. [break][break]

She holds a hand out between them. Her Unown flutters over to it, unafraid. Her fingers fold over it firmly, but she won't tighten her grip until he's committed to stabbing it. [break][break]

"Roll the dice," she responds with a tone in the dead man's land between polite and evil scientist. She urges herself not to blink, as she wants to take it all in.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – canon connections[break][break]

"The one and only," she responds. The Unown drifts between them, clearly taking everything in. Ameena hoped its gaze would feel less heavy under the weight of shadow. She did her best not to let it out too often. And she had little idea as to whether or not it actively reported to Nomi or if only her own Unown served her. To Ameena's knowledge, this was the only case of Avatarship or a pseudo-Avatarship that had multiple separate entities - beyond Elisabeth's, though those were contained inside her in a way Nomi's weren't. [break][break]

The syringe enticed her. "As my only Unown, I cannot parse how much more susceptible it may be to these effects than any other, but I think the benefits outweigh the risks." Who knew what could be gathered from it? "I hope its current unusual state, the rare palette, is a mark in our favor in regards to exceptionality."

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – canon connections[break][break]

Unown existed in an odd spot, being not quiet the legendary deities that held power over a specific domain but also being somewhat divine in nature. "It would be unfortunate to lose the Unown," she observed as the world shifted away from darkness, "but I am not in the habit of keeping things I cannot afford to lose." Her life was marked by too much major loss for her to manage any more without losing her mind itself. [break][break]

Before them stood a man, vaguely familiar. It took her a moment to place him. "One of the DRK Triad... in the simulation? I have not been down this path before." Lulu and talked to her about the Triad and her suspicions about the nature of their involvement in the RKS, but Ameena had always imagined it to be very 'behind the scenes.' [break][break]

"Have you seen this scenario play out before? What should we do?" Her preference, of course, was to avoid anything traumatic, though the RKS seemed destined to spit out the most horrifying scenes.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – your call![break][break]

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]FATHER WINTER 1

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You find yourselves near Relic Red, a clothing store in Mauville City. There, a mischievous man calls upon you from a nearby alleyway in this indoor metropolis. He continuously flips a coin.[break][break]

"call it correctly and i'll give you something nice."

Mauville City sprawled around them. People were bustling and stocking up frantically to get ahead of any restrictions or rations that might result from the war. It also meant that there was a lot of stimulation for her Unown who had wandered off early in the day. It'd been two hours, and the shiny runic pokemon was yet to be seen. Thankfully, she'd come across Theo and explained what she was looking for, though the two of them had been unlucky in finding it so far. [break][break]

"I have yet to experiment with the Unown besides subjecting it to Cillian Quinn 's shadow methods, so I feel guilty for losing track of it already. Perhaps, shadow pokemon need a shorter lead." Or leash, if she was going to be less Galarian about things, but she wasn't. This was her first Unown and her first shadow pokemon. She was positive no one else in the organization would poach it only because the shadow status might scare them off, but she didn't want a Leaguer to find it, either.

TAGS – THEO BECKETT [break]

NOTES – dw / completely randomized types[break][break]

Their hesitation is the same. Once they're out of the interdream zone, they're back in reality and equally obligated to end the other. She meets his gaze as the most unmasked as she's ever been. Her remorse is unmistakably visible. "What else can we do?" She offers with a shrug. "You cannot rejoin Rocket. I cannot leave it."[break][break]

It hangs between them like a guillotine's blade. He's done what she would forgive no one for - killing Magearna - but she knows he will not leave her mind any time soon. The mist had saved her from the pit of rage and despair she was spiraling into, but she will still have to process the loss of Duchess after licking her wounds. It showed her what she couldn't have, which was all the more painful than the battle she had really faced. [break][break]

"And we cannot stay." She spares the mist world another look. Anomalous figures and odd visions fill the horizon much like the paradox pokemon coming closer to them. The range of threats will continue to grow until the zone could consume their consciouses. She swallows hard. It twists like a dagger to the heart to say it, but: "No one can live in a dream." [break][break]

She steps to the very edge of the zone. "I have to neutralize you. I do not have an alternative. They will hang me at the Oldale tree before they allow me to show mercy."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]
NOTES – Dreaming and facing the music.[break]
10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.[break][break]

She smiled at him like a mad scientist as he asked after her Corviknight. Cora was so large and fast in that form that they could travel Hoenn on her back easily, east to west in less than a day. But there was no time to look at opportunities or alternative futures - there was trouble ahead. Thankfully, their pokemon were more than capable, and their typings were more than favorable. [break][break]

"Still more coming," she observed as a stampede seemed to come from the horizon. The interdream mist was hungry for victims. But she turned her head as Montgomery shot a hand out to protect her. It was... [break][break]

"That is not what Tornadus looks like." She stood there gaping at it as it flew like a blur. It seemed to disappear all of a sudden to their left. In its absence was a hole that seemed to be yawning open. "It opened the interdream mist's zone." They had an easy escape! "We need to take our opening before it closes." Who knew how long the dream mist would hold them captive otherwise? [break][break]

She dragged him along to come towards it with her, but her footsteps grew hesitant. On the other side, they were mortal enemies again, and their opposing agendas required the other to be unfit to contribute to the rest of the war effort today.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]
NOTES – Dreaming and fleeing[break]
10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.[break][break]

His Skarmory stays put, her Kirlia ignores them. [break][break]

Their dance this time takes them into the alley, out of the dark streets and into something darker. She does play coy this time. He laughs, that husky, smokey sound brushing against her like an actual touch. He gets her to a wall, talking about the law. The look on her face doesn't quite sell surprise. After all, she had measured her steps back to that wall, had darted her gaze around him as if she would make a break for it, just so he'll step even closer and trap her in. [break][break]

He says something about taking things the easy way. She says something about making things worth his while if he'll make it even easier for her and avoid the jail time altogether. The negotiation always ends with,[break][break]

"Atta girl. See, I can be damn reasonable, and if ya didn't throw a fuckin' net on me..."

d r e a m – J 4[break][break][break]

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She wants to keep him here forever, but the Brute Bonnet and Slither Wing have made it impossible to enjoy their moment. He gets to his feet - she really doesn't mind the view despite the disagreeable nature of him being any distance from her - and she follows. She chooses Cora for this fight, letting the Corviknight out above them all.[break][break]

Cora meets her eyes for a long moment, well aware Montgomery is the enemy. Still, it's clear to see that Ameena isn't fighting him. But she doesn't have opportunity to explain herself. Those paradox pokemon pose a serious threat. She touches the mega stone necklace to increase Cora's power. [break][break]

Corviknight grows to an impressive size, taking up much of the pink-toned sky. "Tear his eyes out," she orders, and Cora dives in with a drill peck on the Slither Wing. "We need to get free before the interdream zone consumes us." It's hard to think clearly, as the dream mist is a tantalizing enemy that makes you want to keep huffing it. But they most return to the world where they are sworn enemies. In the horizon, she can see more paradox pokemon coming their way, only proving her concerns to be true. The zone wants to kill them with these apparitions. [break][break]

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]
NOTES – Dreaming and fighting[break]
10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.[break][break]